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People Who Were Childhood Friends With A Celebrity Reveal What They Were Like As Kids

People Who Were Childhood Friends With A Celebrity Reveal What They Were Like As Kids
Kevin Winter / Staff/GettyImages

It's strange not seeing a childhood friend after many years. You both would've gone through lots of changes, marriages, kids, heartaches, and celebrations. Now, imagine your friend starred in a box-office smashing movie or was the creator of a popular syndicated comedy show? That'd probably be a little weirder when you play catch up, right?


Reddit user, u/finnowenn2, wanted to hear the details of days gone by when they asked:

People who were childhood friends with a now celebrity, Who were they & what were they like as a young person?

50. Practicing For Future Success

I went to high school with Pink. I was kind of shy but a lot of my friends were better friends with her. She was alright. I remember her singing to herself a lot.

littlest_ginger

49. He ALWAYS Behaved

Giphy

Mike Myers went to a high school down the street from mine. We hung out with the same people.

Charmingly funny and very humble. I haven't seen him for a very long time, but I do watch his interviews and he seems to be the same guy he was. I always loved it when he came on the TV wearing a Toronto Maple Leaf Jersey.

Happy he has done so well. He was a jokester and always good to people.

Hasn't forgotten where he came from. That's endearing and rare.

TinktheChi

48. What A...Gentleman?

My grandma was neighbors with Al Capone. She casually told me that he would come over for coffee some mornings.

House was on 72nd and Prairie.

She tells me that on Grandma's wedding day they went to a speakeasy. After a dance back at the table was an expensive bottle of champagne with a note attached from Al.

Almostpushing50

47. Snoop Saved A Life

My Aunt knew Snoop during highschool, and at the time everyone there were getting into colors. She decided to join in, tied a bandana to her arm. Later in the day he took it from her, without a word. Turns out that people wearing her color were being hunted down.

Overall, pretty cool dude. I hear he hasn't changed much.

Unheed

46. Strider Was Always The Best

Not me but my father went to high school with Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn from LOTR). He said he was a really nice guy from the couple times he met him, and that he totally understands how he went on to save Middle Earth.

My dad is a huge LOTR fan if you can't tell.

Curator44

45. Best Brother, In Fantasy And Real Life

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I went to the same jr high and high school as Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester in Supernatural). All the teachers would talk about how nice he was and how he was going to make it big (think he was already a regular on a soap opera by then).

I finally saw him when I was in tech theatre, he had come to see his sister in a high school play. He stayed to the end and looked so proud of her.

wickedvicked

44. She Laid In Wait, Until It Was Her Time

I went to school with Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark). She was a couple of years below me, but I was in a few plays with her. She was just an average girl tbh, in every way. Really normal, didn't really stand out, but wasn't quiet or shy either.

She never got the big parts in plays and wasn't even considered to be one of the 'good' actors at our school, was always just a part of the chorus. Was quite surprised to hear she got a major part in a TV drama, seemed to come out of nowhere.

WrackspurtsNargles

43. Started From A VERY Different Place

I was best friends with Post Malone in high school, and he's pretty much the same person he was then in high school that he is now, just some more wild adventures, but his personality has been that same, and it's nice to see, with the fame and money he stayed who he is.

Fun fact; he use to be an indie music guy in high school, wore Hawaiian V necks, high water tight black jeans, and toms. Coolest, chilliest, and funniest dude you could of hung out with.

Contrasted94

42. Elvis In Combat

My great grandfather was in the army with Elvis Presley during the Korean War. I honestly didn't believe my Mom when she told me, but everyone from my uncles to even my grandma's ex husband say it's true.

Gavinator53

41. Perfectly Normal First Daughters

Well, this is going to get buried, but here it goes. I went to all girl's summer camp with both of the Obama girls for several years. One was a year above me and one a year below, so I never was in a bunk with them, but I did go zip-lining and sailing in the same "class" as Sasha one year, so I've definitely at least spoken to her. Sasha was a super normal girl for that camp (very into One Direction, dressed stylishly, great dancer, etc.) and Malia was more sporty, ridiculously good at track and tennis. Both of them were nice, cool, and very normal.

Also, they had Secret Service guys there to protect them. They'd hang out around the camp wearing earpieces and sunglasses, leaning intimidatingly against golf carts. It was an interesting time.

Renegade_Wren

40. Iron Man? Never.

Not me, but my dad was childhood friends with Robert Downey Jr.

He hasn't changed.

sincerelymlb

39. Everyone's Gotta Go

Really odd one but dj khaled came to my 9th birthday party as he was my brothers best friend and he used to go to the bathroom very often

My brother is still great friends with him (FYI my brother is 4 years older than me and khaled was too)

onhoe

38. Good To Hear Khal Was A Cool Dude

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I grew up in Des Moines playing roller hockey with Jason Mamoa. Roller hockey was big all over in the 90s and both Jason and I were really involved as it grew and played on travel teams and what not.

He was a "cool guy" kind of kid and always taller then everyone else and pretty distinctive looking but not at all buff like he is now, even in high school. Just tall and lean. He liked to joke around, enjoyed being the center of attention and the guy other kids would want to be like. His mom was always there, took him to all his games and practices and was really involved...

...It's been fun to see his success and see him transform into a literal superhero. We never hung out outside hockey so I haven't stayed in touch at all, but he goes back to Iowa on a regular basis to see his mom I know. What is still the strangest and most interesting thing to me is that he's married to Denise Huxtable.

Edgerider99

37. *cries over Glen

I grew up going to a church youth group with Steven Yeun(Glenn from Walking Dead).
I was a few years older than him so not direct peers, but I remember playing backyard football with him and saw him every week for years until I graduated high school. He was a nice kid. But very unassuming and just kind of your avg kid. Never would've guessed he'd grow up to be a star.

Spyu

36. Thinking Out Loud

Ed Sheeran was in my circle of friends, went to a couple of parties with him.

Hes funnier than you would probably give him credit for and had a lot of time for people.

fishgutzzz

35. When The Vine Was A Branch

I was friends with Shawn Mendes in elementary school. He was one of my sister's best friends, and he sometimes came over.

He was a really solid dude, I knew him right as he started getting famous on Vine, which was pretty nice. I didn't really know him that much, since I was only ten or 11 at the time, but for real, solid dude

Ethqwin

34. Always Need To Have The Top Spot

My dad grew up in Massapequa (town on Long Island) and was best friends in elementary through High School with Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry would often jokingly call my dad the "second funniest kid in school" (of course referring to himself as the funniest).

jsilvy

33. He's America's Dad

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My dad interned with Tom Hanks when he first started out at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival. He was always very kind and charismatic with everyone, and just a constant ball of energy. When his son Colin was born, he proudly showed him off to everybody. He was probably just days old.

About 3 years ago, there was a reunion of all the Great Lakes interns. My dad went, not knowing if he was going to show up and if he did, if he'd remember him. But not only did he show up, he approached my dad and remembered him by his full name. He is honestly just a really great man.

melodyponddd

32. Hey Michelle....

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Saw them mostly at Thanksgivings with both of our families or occasionally met up with them and their family if we visited LA. They're really good girls that dealt with a lot of stuff for trying to grow up and live a normal life while also being well recognized and chased around everywhere they went.

And by extension, I also know their sister Lizzie, who is getting close to the same attention as the twins got, but is able to handle it better since she's obviously an adult now and can process things better than if she were much younger. jackmolotov

31. Dookie Kids. 

Late to the party, but I knew Billie Joe Armstrong and the Green Day guys (and the Rancid guys) in their early times from my punk rock days. I did not know them well, but they were the nicest guys ever.

I was standing in line with some friends at one of their sold out shows, and Billie Joe darted out, ran up to us and said, "What are you guys doing standing in line when there's equipment to be brought in? Don't be silly." He then brought us back to their van and gave us each a cymbal, a bass drum pedal, etc. something little we could each carry in and jump the line as "roadies," since we were old pals from early on.

I ran into him backstage years later at a Weezer show. Again, I hadn't known them well, but knew them a bit before they were famous. Billie Joe came up to me, addresses me by name, and we had a nice chat.

Success couldn't have come to a group of more deserving guys. Hey_Laaady

30. We Love Steve.

Giphy

My dad went to the next high school over from Steve Carell and they hung out in the same friend group. Said he was goofy and funny but not exceptionally so. They actually ran into one another at my great-uncle's funeral a few years back and chatted a bit, said he seemed like he was still a pretty decent, normal guy. 1michaelfurey

29. J No! 

My mother went to elementary school with Jennifer Lopez and said that both her and her mother were complete snobs. Not cool. purple_vans

28. Benny. 

Benedict Cumberbatch (in the year below me) inherited my prep school blazer from the hand-me-down cupboard, my mum tells me. Not surprising, since iirc the only place you could buy them new was Harrods. Extremely pleasant fellow at 11, he was. iktw

"Extremely pleasant fellow" is my new favorite complimentary term. GrandmasterJoke

27. So Hedey....

I went to high school with Jon Heder, was a friendly guy, kinda goofy. When Napoleon Dynamite came out and became a craze, I couldn't believe it was him. anovaremnant

Came to comment but then saw this. My brother went to high school with him too! I believe Jon's mom was a teacher there too. drainsink

26. Hoop Days. 

Not me, but my dad used to be friends and play basketball with Shaquille O'Neal when they were around 13. They lived a couple houses away from each other at one point. My dad always resorted to clinging to his leg to keep him from scoring. He was a tank compared to my dad even back then. CrystalShaman

25. All Hail.

Giphy

My husband grew up with Rami Malek. Probably comes at no surprise but he and his twin are just as cool and down to earth as you'd expect. carmino505

24. Before Winter.

I went to secondary school with Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran from GOT). He's always been a nice guy and glad to see he's doing well. Hasn't changed at all from what I've seen. alexfishboy

My brother went to university with him but he dropped out pretty early in the first year because he couldn't handle the constant attention. It makes me pretty sad that he's missing out on that. leahcar83

23. In the Twilight.

Taylor Lautner would get mad when people called him Sharkboy in high school.

Can't say I blame him

Edit: some SCV natives here! brendaishere

I used to work at a restaurant/entertainment place, and Taylor Lautner came in with some friends maybe a year ago. I ran his food, He ordered 2 kids chicken strips meals for himself lmao. Shigs__

22. The Night Fever. 

My siblings and I found some pictures the other day of our mom with John Travolta and Peter Horton hanging out on the beach and with his private jet when they were younger. Our grandma was and still is best friends with Ellen Travolta, John's older sister. :) amoleby

My uncle is actually John's current pilot. He talks about him a lot but has to be very secretive. I've never met him but my uncle has had dinner with his family a few times. Heard he was a cool guy. ikissedthedevil

21. Jurassic Past.

Giphy

I went to school with Chris Pratt - and he was a nice guy. Was able to bounce between all the different circles or cliques. Got along with everyone. I wasn't surprised when he became famous. ezbakeme

20. Oh Boys....

Went to high school with Neil Patrick Harris. He wasn't a bad dude, but wasn't humble in the least. He was still working on Doogie Howser. When he was at school, he wasn't allowed to be himself, surrounded by fans and others. He had the nickname of Drama Dork by some of the other cliques. He hasn't gone to one of the reunions.

Also went with Freddie Prinze Jr. He was a cool dude. But hung out with guys that stroked his ego and bullied others. I was an unfortunate victim to that. He hasn't made it to a reunion yet either. tossitawaycuzreasons

Hello from Albuquerque! My brother worked at Fool's Paradise (a magic store at Winrock) in the late 80's/early 90's and said Neil Patrick Harris would come in frequently, usually right as they were closing and had them stay open a couple more hours while he looked around/bought stuff. He wasn't unkind but perhaps a bit arrogant. HUGE magic geek. My ex-husband went to school with Freddie Prinze Jr. -didn't know him well though. Gottagettagoat

19. Old Blue Eyes...

My grandmother was Frank Sinatra's high school sweetheart. He asked her to marry him and she told him that he had no future and to get a job. He left town and became Frank Sinatra. We have all their letters. pizzaorpasta

18. A Galaxy Far, Far Away...

My dad went to high school with George Lucas.

George was the same age as my aunt, and had a huge crush on her. She was already dating my uncle at the time, and was super popular, so that never would have happened anyway.

My dad was a few years younger. He was on the tennis team with George and would get rides to practice from him from time to time.

My dad said George was nice and also pretty nerdy (no surprises there, and my dad was too so they got along fine). I don't think he was bullied necessarily, but it definitely wasn't popular.

He had big ears. They weren't friends, but they were friendly. At least as much as a senior would be to a scrawny freshman on the tennis team. He also talked about the car accident. It was a really huge deal in the town.

I like to think George Lucas would remember my family, but who knows. Catsdrinkingbeer

17. A Funny Dude. 

My dad went to college with Stephen Fry. Said he was one of the funniest dudes he ever met

Also my granddad went to art college with John Lennon. I unfortunately don't know if they knew each other well or not since my granddad passed away when I was 6. I learned that they went to college together through my mother. Reddit

16. The Rock.

Giphy

My mom used the go to the same gym as Dwayne Johnson(she had just started going again at this point and she hadn't been to a gym in 10+ years due to an incident where someone had a heart attack in her spin class). This was before he was famous and everything she just saw he knew what he was doing.

She walked up to him and said "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you I just don't really know where to start with all this." He immediately stopped in the middle of his workout and helped design an entire workout plan for her including showing her what machines/how to use them. Over the next several months every time he was there and he saw my mom he would ask her how her workout was going.

Just genuinely a nice guy. Sadly she moved and couldn't go back to the same gym but she has kept using the workout he designed for her and she kept a six pack well into her 50's. I know it's not really being childhood friends with them but it was still when he was super young and he had a profound impact on my moms life so I thought I would share. ticktickXXkinch

15. Scully....

My father-in-law went to high school with and briefly (like one date briefly) dated Gillian Anderson. He says she was really wild, your typical bad girl, but she was super sweet and genuinely a good person so she got away with it. funtime_snack

14. Before Clark. 

I knew Henry Cavill when he was a kid. He was sweet and reliable and generally a very nice person. Haven't seen him since around the era when he was taking roles in films like Hellraiser VIII because working as an actor isn't easy.

Can't really imagine what it must be like to be the subject of the intense media gaze that goes with being a global celebrity. fiveupfront

13. Shroomed. 

My mom went to college with Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul guy). They were in the radio department together and apparently he was super funny. They also took shrooms together and I've been jealous of my mom ever since I heard that story. arizonacardsftw

He was also a very successful writer on Saturday Night Live, and co-hosted one of the best sketch comedy shows ever called Mr Show. Bob wrote the famous "I live in a van down by the river!" sketch with Chris Farley. yougotthesilver

12. Playing Dress Up. 

The kid who wrote the Eragon series (Christopher Paulini) went to school a ways from here. I can't say I knew him, but its rural Montana so I ran into him a few times since nobody lives out here. He used to show up at our school promoting his book dressed in renaissance fair style clothing. We all thought he was kind of a geek.

He's worth like 30 mil now because of a book he wrote when the rest of us were still trying to figure out who to take to prom.

What's funny is that I actually recognize a few characters and places in his books as being partly based on locals and the surrounding area.

Edit: meant to say worth 30 mil but accidentally added an extra zero, its been fixed. Vict0r117

11. The Jokester. 

I went to junior and senior high school with Matthew Lillard. He was a class clown type, and also smart. I did a lot of theater with him, and he overacted. He was perfectly cast as Shaggy. Seachica

10. The Sweet Girl.

Giphy

My aunt was Zendaya's teacher in 4th grade. She says that she was a sweet girl.

They saw each other at a meet and greet a while back, pretty nice. RivenTheAhamkara

She's one of those Disney stars that I really hoped would make it. She was great in Spider-Man and I'm excited for Euphoria and Dune! _helloalien

9. Waterboy. 

Knew Ryan Lochte. Not much changed since he was a kid. Swims fast, thinks slow. I view him now as a teenager's mind in a middle-aged man's body, still doing things that don't make much sense: https://time.com/4458405/ryan-lochte-rio-robbery-olympics/ ThisUsernameIsTakend

8. Swim Baby! 

I knew Michael Phelps - he was a little famous when I met him (2003), but not uber famous yet. Great guy, friendly & funny. We played poker off & on - he loved to play but loved to win more and often would not fold. Felted him a few times for $100 - $300.

He was super ADHD and had trouble saying no to anything. He did best when he was not distracted by other people and had a lot of structure - swimming was perfect for him. falco_iii

7. School Daze....

Not friends really, but I went to high school with Cody Rhodes (real name Runnels). He was a nice enough guy. Only interacted with him a few times. He was on the wrestling team and in the drama club, so everyone knew what his post-graduation plans were. I also used to work at Toys 'R Us, and I can't tell you how weird it is to stock a shelf with an action figure of a guy you knew in high school. Paronine

6. Bad Biebs! 

My younger brother was friends with Justin Bieber. I didn't know him super well saw him here and there but always stood out even before he was famous as he was the type of kid who would very loudly make fun of and bully others.

I remember him being kicked off the city busses a few times for yelling at and being rude to mentally/physically disabled people along with just old people in general as well. All around my memory of him was that he was a fool. Dirty_Gurdy

5. God Bless....

Giphy

My mom went to a Christian high school with Marilyn Manson (yes ironic I know). They were pretty good friends and he used to draw her weird but cool drawings. My mom was extremely outgoing and was friends with everyone though. He eventually dropped out or transferred I believe. Rainbow_trout97

4. The Boss Lady. 

Not me, but my mom went to junior high with Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. She says that both were sort of overachievers, and so there was always a rivalry between them. My mom considers her to have been a 'frenemy.' TriumphantHog

Thats pretty cool! I actually just recently DJ'd an event for Sheryl Sandberg a few months or so ago. She didn't show up but everyone talked super highly of her. NotZachA

3. The Royals. 

Went to school with several people in various royal families, European and African. They could never show in team sports photos or things like that for security reasons but surprisingly there were no actual bodyguards required (at least not that I saw). They seemed pretty down to earth compared to all the other rich fools there. woody36

2. Love you Emma! 

Emma Stone! She was very bright, intelligent, and naturally charismatic. She often got the lead in all of the school plays. I remember one year, in our 3rd grade play, the main role was something she really wanted, and I ended up getting it! Even though she was disappointed, she still told me Congratulations and that she thought I would do a good job.

We used to play gymnastics at her house all the time and pretend we were Kerri Strug, her parents got us both USA leotards! She was a sweet girl, we kind of split up later in elementary school and don't talk anymore but she was a great friend! Also wanted to add that I called her by her real name, Emily, haha shanksta3

1. Hi Ms. Granger...

Giphy

I went to the same school as Emma Watson and we shared many of the same teachers though she graduated the year before I started. From what the teachers say, she was very studious and serious about her work and wanting to achieve.

She was really good at art and English (and is still really good friends with the old English department) and even contributed a hand drawn postcard to our school's centenary celebration (we all had to do postcards for an exhibit). She was really nice but you couldn't talk to her or fangirl over her if you didn't know otherwise the teachers would penalize you (this was during the Harry Potter years). unicorn_corpse

REDDIT

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

Reddit user strakerak asked: 'What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?'

boy playing at laptop inside room
Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.

But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.

Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.

It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.

Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:

"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"

These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.

Bleeding Out

"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."

"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."

– Crotch-Monster

A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.

Like Father, Like Son

"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."

– omgtater

These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.

Unplanned House Guests

"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."

– foxfood9116

The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?

How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.

But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.

Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.

These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.

From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.

Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:

"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"

"Tale As Old As Time..."

"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","

"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."

"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."

"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."

"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."

"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."

"I think he was a germaphobe."

"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."

"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."

"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.

"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."

"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."

"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."

"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'

"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."

"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."

"It was very low key."

"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."

"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."

"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."

"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."

"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."

'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."

"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."

"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."

"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."

"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin

It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!

"I work in a public library."

"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."

"A popular book that just came out."

"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."

"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"

"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."

"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."

"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."

"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."

"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."

"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."

"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."

"It's just a party."

"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore

In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...

"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."

"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."

"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."

"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."

"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."

"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."

'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."

"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."

"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."

"I'm not kidding."

"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."

"My wife worked booking."

"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."

"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."

"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."

"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."

"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."

"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!

It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...

Said absolutely no one.